The Worship of the Golden Calf by Farrell Trevor M.A

Author:Farrell, Trevor M.A.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Technology Planning

Of special interest to us is the technology planning that went into ISCOTT. Critical to the overall failure of the project was the failure to acquire the necessary technology effectively. This is one dimension of technology planning. There is a second dimension to the failures in technology planning to which we might draw attention. This is the issue of whether the complex of objectives that was established was what was really desirable or possible. These two dimensions or ‘issue-areas’ are explored below.

The arrangements for acquisition of the necessary technologies for successfully operating the new plant seemed a priori, sensible and even sophisticated in some areas. There was a clear recognition that foreign technical assistance was needed and would be required for several years. The initial idea was to acquire the necessary technology through a joint venture arrangement. This seems sensible enough.

The plans also sought to allow nationals to keep control over the overall direction of the venture, to insist on their being exposed to critical areas of technology, and to split the project management function among three entities Korf, Hatch and ISCOTT itself so as to ensure that nationals participated in this critical knowledge area and learned from their participation. With the breakdown of the joint venture and the decision to go it alone with a reduced project, plans were formulated to buy in the necessary technical assistance and necessary training of nationals to operate the plant.

It was also decided to hire expatriates on an individual basis and that skilled expatriates would be hired to fill the top executive positions. Elaborate understudy arrangements were proposed with the aim of ensuring that a transfer of technology took place from expatriates on contracts to locals who would ultimately take their place. Most of this sounds fine. However, it did not work as planned.

Arguably, there was little wrong with the plans themselves. The one area that is perhaps subject to criticism is the notion of splitting the project management function into three, so that ISCOTT could maintain effective control and its people could participate and thereby learn. ISCOTT did not have at its disposa1 the necessary experienced local staff to adequately discharge the responsibilities it allocated to itself. Its leadership's time was also distracted by involvement in numerous other activities, a problem we shall return to below. It may be then that its plans in this regard were over-ambitious.

The real problem seems to have been in implementation. The absorption of needed technology through technical assistance contracts, and the hiring of skilled expatriates, all turn out to depend crucially on the top management of an operation, and their own knowledge, skills and capabilities The capture of the necessary technologies depends in the final analysis on the systems set up, the arrangements made, the ability to choose people correctly, motivate and manage them so that they fulfil the objectives set for them. It depends on what is insisted on, at a very detailed level, under technical assistance contracts, and the ability to determine whether what is wanted is being received.

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